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(This is today’s bit of advice from the book Safety Toolbox.)

Strength of will is not required to keep going when you continuously have thrilling successes and things always go your way. It either means you are playing your best ever (usually only that one time in a year), or you are beating up on beginners.

What about when you are constantly losing? That could mean you are playing opponents way beyond your skill level, or you are so drunk even bar-bangers consider you easy.

It is the close games that were lost and could have – no – SHOULD have won. This is when the will to live can be at its lowest. Somehow, you have to dig deep inside yourself and use the loss as a drive to improve.

There are few who have the intestinal fortitude and deep drive to improve based only on the pure love of the game. You might need more realistic rationale to get yourself to the practice table and work on improving skills. Based on a survey of regular pool hall players, here are some reasons others have used for their personal motivation after experiencing black times.

Get back at a bad winner. You might know some individuals who took a bit too much joy in your defeat. Those who act in that manner also take losing personally.
Gain respect from contemporaries. Among your table friends, using effective safeties increases your winning percentage enough to move up in the pecking order.
Improve defensive skills. If you are a person who knows his game lacks this necessary thinking process and the associated skills, developing safety tools is an excellent way to expand your competence.
Cash control. With effective safety use, people who previously confiscated your spare change will find the flow changing direction. Explain it away as a lucky day.
Improve your game winning average. Just the knowledge of safety strategies and tools expands your overall imaginative abilities and can add a 10% average improvement in your win-loss statistics.

Use one or more of these along with other personal motivators to drive you to develop your defensive game. It pays off over your lifetime.